An open letter to
Shobha Narayan and why I think she is not correct
This is an open letter to Shobha Narayan who wrote an
article, criticising the Patrick Pichette’s decision to quit Google as a CFO. I
think Shobha Narayan misses out on some crucial messages, reflected in the
communication brought out by Pichette, and hence I want to respond to her
myopic view. I hope it is construed in a positive fashion. This letter is a
rebuttal, and the thoughts presented by me here, reflect why I though the
otherwise, to what Shobha had to say.
It’s a sheer pity that a writer of such a stature has come
out with such a feeble analogy and has equated the letter to a sheer drama,
which I feel is written straight from the heart. A human being having the guts
to accept, that he has not spent enough time with his wife and turns out to
self-realisation, when on a vacation, comes back introspects it and takes a
call which certainly is not easy to make. Not every one can do it, as it takes
a lot of courage to do it
The fact that human realization can come at any point of
time, at any stage of life, at any juncture, at any breath we take is a fact,
and not a mirage of our thoughts. For
some it might come at a very early age, for others it could be at a very late
stage of their life. The point that Shoba tries to reflect on the candid
admission by Pichette is that, it is pretext for spousal priorities, whereas I
see it as a realization, a step towards Nirvana, an audacious move towards the point
self-actualization as propounded by Frederick Maslow. I agree it’s a sermon,
but not a covert one, but the one which has the temerity to convey a hard
hitting to message to all those executives, who ignore their moment of
self-actualization and burn themselves in seeking the ambitious corporate
targets and grandeur goals. Pichette certainly is quite bold and has rendered
himself a well-deserved break, which shall spare him sometime to ruminate on
the larger contribution that he wants to make towards in the times to come.
Why can’t the media just talk about normal people is it
always essential to talk about those leaders those have made sacrifices,
compromises, forgone stock options? I am quite doubtful about Shoba’s understanding
about the concept of vacationing, unlike the in the east where many executives
still don’t understand this phenomena. Executives in the west take a vacation
and well-intended breaks and it’s during these breaks they don’t respond to
calls and emails and set out auto responses. It is during such breaks they come
up with world changing ideas, probably Shobha should read, ‘Leaving Microsoft
to change the world’. In this book, John Woods the CEO of Room to read, who
previously held a privileged position at Microsoft, left Microsoft at the peak
of his career so that he could start ‘Room to Read’ and change the world, who
knows Pichette might do something like that, and I am sure given the rich
gratifying experience possessed by him a lot of non-profits and foundation
would try and poach him out soon.
Shoba’s argument on balance seems to me like a sermon, where
she constructs a cocktail of habits, attitude, passion and purpose. It seems to
me that she herself is equivocal about the notion of balance, and I presume
that in a jet set age where information travels faster than anything else, the
prerogative is not to disconnect, a sense of urgency is demanded in corporates
and immediate action is required at upper echelon levels. I am sure Pichette,
would have gone shopping with his wife to the Tesco’s, the Sainsbury’s, the
Carrefour’s of the world and would have assisted his wife to pick up the most
luxurious brands. Yes Ms Narayan, he must have done all that and here in the
west they do much more and do it sincerely. Unlike in the east, where there is a pseudo
support by husbands who would publically post affectionate pictures of shopping
with their wives on a social networking site and the same husbands would abuse
and hurt their wives on weekdays. We have ample proof on the lifestyle that is
changing in the metros. So I believe Shobha should cease to give sermons on
balance and understand that Pichette’s decision to quit is genuine and not
fake.
Shobha concludes by saying that Balancing involving choosing
between conflicting priorities and I feel that’s essentially is not true.
Balancing is the ability to be steady, it is the ability to take rational call
amongst all odds, it’s the ability to posses the courage to do what one needs
and I too some extent agree when Shobha says that it’s the ability to follow
your passion. That’s true Ms Naryan, Mr Pichette has stepped down to do
something good, to spend time with his family and there is nothing incorrect
about it. Simply by displaying disclaimers, that you have a tendency to turn
off email and mobile device and by using jargons such as ‘freedom’ and ‘self control’
will not suffice, you probably need to come out of your comfort zone and go on
a Kilimanjaro trip to experience self realization. May be, who knows you might
come up with something as inspirational as Mr Pichette.
